The document discusses key considerations for film distribution including establishing a film's unique selling point to differentiate it, identifying the target audience, determining the type and locations of release, deciding how to promote the film within the marketing budget, and choosing an optimal release date. It provides examples of how independent films like Bait and Sorry We Missed You successfully distributed through websites and viral marketing despite small budgets.

1. How I Distributed
my Film
Ben Richardson

2. Distribution in
Hollywood
Hollywood blockbusters are usually able to distibute their
films very widely due to their large financial budgets. One film
that I looked at was Tenet. Tenet carried out a large social
media campaign consisting of:
•An instagram account where film posters were posted in
order to entice followers in the wait for the films release.
•Advertisements for the film were made for snapchat in
order to appeal to teenagers.
•A facebook page which was made in order to appeal to older
potential viewers.
Having social media allows film makers to release short action-
packed clips that will excite the viewer for the films eventual
release. It also gives film distributors a chance to show off
famous actors that feature in the film in order to create
excitement.
Due to Tenet's large advertising budget, Tenet were able to
frame large posters in busy cities and on the sides of busy
roads. This is a good way to distribute as it allows the
producers to bring awareness to the film and create
excitement. The poster's consisted of the films' most
recognisable actors so that people would recognise them and
therefore be more likely to watch the film.

3. Distribution
in Independent Films
Much unlike films produced by the Hollywood big six,
Independent films do not have the financial advantages that
enables them to carry out large and expensive distribution
campaings. However, there are still some ways a small
independent film could successfully distribute itself.
One way could be through social media. It is completely free to
sign up for all the popular social media platforms such as
Instagram and Facebook. Therefore this is arguably the most
important and benefitial method that can be used to distribute
a small film.
Another way an independent film could distribute itself is
by making a film website. Having a website for a film does to
only make the film look more professional, but also it serves as
a good platform to provide information about the film and
display any awards that the film may have won. Making a
website does not require a large budget and therefore is a very
simple and useful way to distribute a film.
I will look at some examples of independent film distribution in
the next 2 slides.

4. Bait
Bait is a small independent film written and directed
by Mark Jenkins. Due to the films small budget, it was
not able to have a large marketing campaign. Bait has
a website which acts as a hub for everything you need
to know about the film. The website has a simple, but
sharp design that is easy on any readers eyes.
Different awards that have been won by the film are
listed on the front page of the website. This is put
where it is because it is the first thing any viewer
would see. It allows viewers to instantly know that
the film must be of quality as it is rated highly by
influential people such as Mark Kermode.
The website had 9 tabs across the top which allow
viewers to easily navigate throughout the website
and find any information that they need to find. The
three most notable tabs are festivals, screenings and
shop. The festivals tab shows a list of previous
festivals that the film has attended. Attending
festivals can be very useful when distributing a film as
it is a good way to spread the word about the film by
showing short clips and selling merchandise. The
screenings tab informs people on where they can see
the film and how they can watch it at home. This tab is
very useful for distribution as it clearly tells people
how they can watch it. Finally, Bait's website has a
shop tab where merchandise can be purchased. This
can be a large source of income for the film if it
becomes popular as people will want to own Bait
products.

5. Sorry we
Missed you
Sorry we Missed you is a film directed by Ken
Loach. Similar to Bait, Sorry we Missed you is an
independent film and therefore did not have a large
budget to spend on distribution. Sorry we Missed you
has a film website which is very useful as Sorry we
Missed you is not a high street film. The website acts as
a hub for the film where all information about the film
can be easily distributed. For example, the website's
main feature is a search bar where people can enter
their postcode in order to find out where the nearest
screening of the film is being held.
Films like Sorry we Missed you can also benefit highly
from using viral marketing. This is where brands make
use of existing social media platforms to promote their
product. In the top right corner of the website there is a
hashtag (#SORRYWEMISSEDYOU) this is useful as it
allows people to quickly find out news about the film on
social media by clicking on the hashtag.
Finally, on the website there is a tab that says 'join the
impact campaign'. This tab encourages people who
work in the gig economy to join together and fight to
recieve a better type of work. This tab will also help Ken
Loach's film appeal to his grassroots audience of the

6. Film Distributors'
Association (FDA)
The film distributors' association is the oldest film
trade body in the world. Since 1915, they have been
representing the interests of distribution companies
which market and release films to cinema audiences.
In class we watched a video of Mark Batey, the
former CEO of the FDA. The presentation
highlighted the importance of coming up with a
distribution plan for our film. The video raises 5 main
points of consideration:
•WHAT - What makes your film different?
•WHO - Who is your film's target audience?
•WHERE - Where is the film going to be released?
•HOW - How will the film be advertised and
promoted?
•WHEN - When is your film going to be released?

7. What?
This point is ultimately about your films unique
selling point (USP) and what makes your film stand
out from others that are like it. In order for a
distributor to establish what the films main selling
points are they must take a few factors into account:
•How the storyline differs from others
•What are the key elements of the film
•What is unique about the film
•Who is in the film
•Where is the film being filmed
Mark Besseling states that a films USP is crucial and
needs to be exploited by distributors in order for the
film to reach its target audience and be a success.
Therefore, it is the distributors job to find a key
aspect of the film that differentiates from other films
and include it in posters and social media.
For example, the USP of a film such as Captain
Marvel is that it stars a female superhero. This is a
very strong USP as the majority of superhero film
star male superhero's. Therefore, the film is different
from most other films in its genre.

8. Who?
Once the USP of the film has been
established, it is the distibutors job to
find an appropriate target audience for
the film. This is a very big decision as it
will influence aspects such as where
and when to advertise the film.
Distributors will be required to carry
out extensive research into similar
films in order to understand the target
audience and discover how to make
the film appeal to them.
Distributors will also view box office
data in order to spot trends in the
market which they can then apply to
their own film so it will stand out from
similar films.

9. Where?
Once distributors have established
their USP and their target audience,
they must decide what type of
release they are going to go with.
There are two main types of film
releases:
•Saturated - where a
blockbuster film has a mass
opening with lots of premieres in
cinemas.
•Selected - where an independent is
released on a more low-key basis.
The type of release is usually decided
based on the type of film
(blockbuster or independent).

10. How?
The distributor must decide how they
are going to advertise the film and
take into account the cost of doing so.
Therefore, a films budget has a very
large impact on the success of a film
as film's with large budgets are able
to hold much larger distribution
campaigns. The costs of marketing
are divided into two types of costs:
•Above the line:
•Creating an online presence of
the film through trailers, posters
and social media.
•Below the line:
•Interviews and premiers.

11. When?
Once the film is ready, distributors are faced with
the decision of when to release the film. In order
for the film to be a success, distributors will look at
rival companies and make sure no similar films are
being released at the same time in order to avoid
unneeded competition. The genre of the film is
also a big factor in deciding upon a films release
date. This is because different films are released at
different times of the year that best suit the films
target audience. For example, romantic films are
usually released around valentines day, whilst
Christmas films are released around Christmas
time.
This process is so important as distributors only
have one shot at it. If a film is released at the
wrong time there are no second chances, once a
film is released it is released and it can not be
altered. The success of a film is highly based on its
opening weekend, so if the release date is not
properly thought through, it could really damage
the films reputation,

12. Our Film
What? - Our storyline offers a unique storyline following
an enigma code which entices audiences and makes them
want to watch because they can formulate their own
opinions and theories. This allows our film to differ from
others.
Who? - We established our films target audience to be
young adults (15 - 35). Possibly directed at London
audiences, due to the familiar locations and scenery.
Where? - Due to the small budget of our film, we would go
with a selected release. Our film would be released to
grassroots audiences within London.
How? - We would use above-the-line promotional
techniques such as social media and posters. These are
free to make and offer a good method of promotion. We
use free methods due to the small marketing budget.
When? - We decided to release our film in Summer. This is
a popular time for films to be released because people are
often on holiday from school/work and therefore have
more free time.

13. Conclusion
To conclude, there are a lot of different methods
of distributing an independent film like our own.
In our group we will be exploring all these
methods and using as many different ones as
possible in order to create awareness before the
films release. Social media can promote a film by
posting trailers and clips of the film on social
media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and
TikTok. By posting to these different platforms
we will reach a larger audience of different ages
as different social media platforms are largely
used by different age groups.
We will also create a website that will act as a hub
for our film. On the website you will be able to
find local screenings of the film as well as other
information a potential audience member may
need. We can also post the link to our website on
different social media platforms in order to keep
the public informed.